Ena raised her staff. Greg half-expected her to slam it down and yell, “you shall not pass!” Instead, a thick white outline, identical to the radiation that surrounded Professor Tika, her grandmother presumably, surrounded her.

“Pay attention,” she said. “My cousin taught me this.”

[Ena activated Tier 2 skill: Transcendence of the Goddess!]

A…tier two skill…

What Greg saw next made him realize this girl should probably be feared and especially this cousin of hers. Just who the hell were the Tanakas? As much as the young man figured getting involved with them was likely a bad idea, his curiosity needed to be quenched. Just how far did this well of mysteriousness go? How and why did the dean have the ability to so much as know he died. Did they work for God or something? Well…she was a nun, but the mystery of why they revived him still bugged Greg.

Four giant beams of bright high-pitched magic erupted from the ceiling, each striking down as if being directed by the baton of a conductor.

Barnabas’s yell of pain was also something Greg didn’t expect in this fight. The brown-haired young man fell to a knee, but to his credit, held onto his staff. However...magic was out of the question.

[Barnabas was inflicted with Super Magic Mute. For two hours, he cannot activate skills.]

Brutal…

His eyes widened, then narrowed in determination as he took a fighting stance. Greg admired the will there. Fight to the bloody end. Ena didn’t give him the chance to do anything.

She…seemingly winked out of existence, baffling the hell out of Greg in the process. She only reappeared a moment later in front of the muscled man, thrusting her staff into his center. He flew!

She aimed her hand at him, abandoning her staff entirely. The room dimmed as a surge of…something erupted around the young woman’s hand. From Greg’s perspective, it looked as if her hand was encircled in a silvery-white fire.

Goodman suddenly appeared in front of her.

“Hold on, hold on, little meat. This match is called! Ena wins! Her opponent cannot fight.”

Ena only stared coldly at the professor and he in return did not release his eye contact. Finally, after what felt like ages, the brown-haired girl allowed her hand to drop. The coldness vanished in an instant, replaced with a cheery expression as she returned to Greg and the others.

“What the bloody hell was that amazingness?” Gretta said, voice full of bafflement.

Ena shrugged. “That guy ticked me off with his arrogance, so I took the fight slightly seriously.”

“Slightly?” Greg said, his gaze skeptical. “For a moment there, I thought you were about to send that guy to the moon.”

Ena giggled. “Next time, he’d think twice before saying the things that he did.”

Greg sighed. “Fair enough.”

He did his best not to gawk at the petite girl but failed. Why did someone like this even wanted to be around Greg? If he didn’t get stronger as fast as possible, the young man would surely be known as the…

Well, having someone that strong around protecting him would buy enough time to get stronger. As embarrassing as that appeared, it was the reality of things. Greg needed to learn how to survive deadly magic beams among many other things. He could think back to the Harry Potter books, but this… In reality, this felt so much worse. It made him wonder what lurked in the dungeons. Who or what were these so-called Bright Ones?

“Now, little meats, I have a feeling I’ll be bored unless you can give me a show like that,” Goodman said.

Hiroshi snorted. “You people will be impressed by anything with lights.” His voice was calm, calculated. He even adjusted his glasses. “Anyone can beat a weakling like that. Doesn’t make it worth shaming the entire class over it.”

Ena glared at him, but before she could speak, Professor Luya interrupted her.

“Good point. So let’s move onto the next fight.” The dark elf scanned the students for a second. “How about a treat, since Hiroshi’s not impressed enough.”

“Don’t take it that way,” Hiroshi said. “This is why we have so many arrogant—”

“You probably heard of his name once or twice,” Luya continued, ignoring Hiroshi. The black-haired boy adjusted his glasses but didn’t seem to take offense. “He’s probably the only one who’d survive against Ena. Maybe defeat her.”

“Oh, have I mentioned there was one more prodigy?” Gretta said to Greg, annoyance in her voice.

“Ena, Hiroshi, and…”

Luya finished Greg’s sentence with, “oh wait, the student council president’s little brother is not here. What a shame.” She glanced at a clock on the wall…that was far away. “We’re almost out of time. Let’s just skip to the part where one of you lucky savages get the dishonor of facing off against your Professor Goodman.”

“Hey,” the wolfman replied playfully. “The little meats will feel like veterans after a bout with me.” He grinned. “Just remember one thing. This is a learning experience. Even if it hurts a bit.”

He was the only one to laugh at his terrible joke.

“Well, good luck out there,” Greg told Ena.

“I hadn’t forgotten your request,” Ena reminded.

“Request?” Gretta asked.

Ena waved off her curiosity. “Nothing important.”

Gretta seemed to wilt at the dismissive response. That made Ena probably feel bad for her fellow tiny girl and elaborated. “It’s just a little training.”

Gretta’s eyes widened a bit. “You’re training more after this?”

“You won’t gain ranks with this class alone,” Greg told her.

“Is…is it okay if I join? I promise not to be disruptive,” she said. Then she smirked. “Unless this is more than just training.”

Ena flicked her nose, blushing. “Keep that kind of talk up and I’ll make you go home lifeless.”

Gretta flinched then she glanced at Finn. “What about you?”

“I’ll pass,” Finn replied. “I have to go to work after this.”

“Oh? Where do you work?” Gretta asked.

“What a lovely little group, chatting during my class.”

They turned to see Professor Luya gazing at them with an unsettling cheery smile. “Luckily for you, rules are rules. We said we’d pick the person that we deem has the most potential.”

Ena sighed.

“Not the strongest,” Professor Luya finished. “Greg, come on down. Isn’t it great to be a part of a group that loves the attention of your educators?”

Goodman’s grin widened until it was ear to ear, displaying razor sharp teeth. A terrifyingly creepy sight.

“Would you consider a first-timer’s pass?” Greg asked, half-jokingly.

“No,” Professor Luya said simply. “But now that you’ve mentioned this is your very first time, you’re now super qualified. Go get ‘em, tiger!”

He turned to Ena. And both had flat stares, wondering if their instructors were fit for this job. The only thing that made this moment bearable was the pissed look deep into Hiroshi’s eyes.

Greg decided not to think much on it; however. He didn’t know the guy.

“Well, I’ll at least punch Goodman before I’m hospitalized,” Greg deadpanned.

“That’s the spirit,” Luya said cheerfully.